Rotational Lock for Fluid Sleeve Surrounding a Tubular String from Fixed Portion of a Top Drive

ABSTRACT

In the preferred mode of the present invention, the bottom end of a connector sleeve couples the non-rotating sleeve to the top drive swivel. The top end of the connector sleeve rotatably impinges on a non-rotating member of the top drive directly, the top drive longitudinal carriage, or a combination of the two. Rotation of the top drive out put shaft will transmit a force to the non-rotating sleeve through seal friction until the top end of the connector sleeve contacts a non-rotating body of the top drive&#39;s longitudinal carriage or the top drive directly or both. Upon contact, the non-rotating sleeve will resist the torque aided by the connector sleeve and overcome the seal friction transmitted to the non-rotating sleeve. The top drive and connector move axially in tandem and even have some capability of relative axial movement while resisting further relative rotation while facilitating assembly of the components.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The field of this invention relates to drilling equipment for thediscovery and production of hydrocarbons from the earth. In particular,rotating equipment mounted to a drilling rig hoisting system and moreparticularly to top drive hoisting systems of which a portion of therotating equipment is intended to maintain a relatively fixed rotationalorientation with respect to said drilling rig.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A well-known method of working a well string within a wellbore isthrough the use of a top drive rig. A top drive rig is comprised ofguide rails and a drive frame which may be longitudinally manipulatedthrough the use of a crown block connected at the top drive's upper end.The top drive power unit is typically mounted to said drive frame andmay selectively rotate the well string. A vertical mast houses the crownblock near the top and supports the guide rails by providing structureto the top drive rig. The top drive has fluid communication with thewell string and is capable of supplying fluid to the well string.Through such an arrangement, the top drive may manipulate the wellstring longitudinally, rotatably, and pump fluid through the wellstring.

During top drive operations, it may be desired to pump non-drillingfluids down hole. These fluids may include cement slurry, chemicals,epoxies, or the like. It may be desirable to manipulate the well stringlongitudinally and rotatably after or during fluid delivery to the wellstring. While the top drive may fulfill these requirements when directlycoupled to the well string, top drive operators may prefer to supplysaid fluids down hole though a fluid passage that does not pass throughthe top drive in order to maintain the top drive's mechanical integrityand life span. In such cases, a top drive swivel may be implemented.Such a device generally consists of a sleeve rotatably disposed about ahousing wherein the housing is coupled on one end to the top drive andon the other end to the well string. The sleeve generally contains aport for fluid communication with the housing and the housing willgenerally have at least one passage for fluid communication with thewell string.

The sleeve of a top drive swivel is rotatably disposed to the top driveswivel's shaft to allow relative rotation between the sleeve of the topdrive swivel and the output shaft of the top drive. The sleeve isrequired to maintain substantially constant rotational orientationrelative to the rig due to current methods of supplying external fluidto the well string while bypassing the top drive. Rotary seals areimplemented to maintain the integrity of the fluid passage whileallowing relative rotation. The seals create a friction coupling betweenthe swivel's sleeve and the top drive swivel shaft which needs to beresisted by some external means. Methods commonly employed to resist thetop drive torque have, in the past, comprised of torque arms bracedagainst rig components as will be described below.

A first method utilizes rigid torque arms mounted between the mast ofthe rig and the work piece to be rotatably constrained with respect tothe rig. One embodiment of this concept is described in U.S. Pat. No.5,107,940; US20180328126A1; US20070272403A1 and US20080041578A1. Thisparticular embodiment requires a longitudinally translatable carriage toallow the top drive to reciprocate while rotating. An embodiment of thismethod exists in which a carriage is not employed. This design increasesfriction and wear exhibited between the rigid torque arms and the mastof the rig. While eliminating the carriage may be a less complicated andlighter apparatus, undue damage may be experienced by both the torquereactive device and the mast of the rig. Inclusion of the carriage addscomplexity and weight to installation.

A second method utilizes a tie to resist the top drive torque. Apreferred embodiment of this method is a cable horizontally fastened onone end to the rotatable sleeve, or to a clamp affixed to the rotatablesleeve, and fastened on the other end to a substantially rigid member ofthe rig. One embodiment of this concept is described in U.S. Pat. Nos.8,201,627; 8,491,013 and US20030024701A1. Upon reciprocation of the topdrive, the tie experiences an inclination angle with a magnitude greaterthan zero degrees. Unless attached to a longitudinally movable carriageas previously described, the tie acts as a hypotenuse and mustdynamically adapt its length in order to maintain the orientation of therotatably disposed sleeve. The change in length for small inclinationangles may be negligible and some embodiments of this method do notprovide provisions for dynamic length adjustment of the tie outside ofintrinsic compliance. An example of such intrinsic compliance isdescribed in EP0556007A1 in which the plumbing attached to the port onthe rotatable sleeve is intended to be a suitable tie to withstand thereactive torque while being compliant enough to accommodate smallmagnitudes of axial reciprocation.

A third method utilizes a coupling between the rotatably disposed sleeveand parallel struts mounted to the top drive that support an elevator.An embodiment of this method is described in CA2759139. A torquereaction device is coupled between a clamp and a base plate. The baseplate is coupled to the rotary sleeve and the clamp is coupled toparallel links or bails extending from the top drive.

Other relevant references are GB2276403A; U.S. Pat. No. 5,236,035; GB2451923 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,500,518.

One problem faced by the known solutions described above is the durationand scope involved in the installation and removal of reactive torquecouplings whereas limiting the difficulty and quantity of operations tobe performed in the torque coupling installation workflow reduces thecosts relating to labor.

Excessive loading and suboptimal load paths are a problem frequentlyencountered by reacting torque through a tie coupled to the rig whichdoes not translate longitudinally with the top drive. If the tie is notacting normal to the mast, a component force in the longitudinaldirection will act on both the rotary sleeve and the mounting point onthe rig. If the component force is not symmetrically balanced about thetop drive's axis of rotation, the component force will induce a bendingmoment in the top drive's shaft and the top drive swivel coupled to theshaft. By reacting the torque in a plane normal to the top drive's shaftas described in the present invention, excessive axial loads and bendingmoments induced in the top drive swivel are minimized. This allows aless expensive configuration of top drive swivel to be implementedsuccessfully.

Frequently the entity owning and operating the rig is different from theentity owning and installing the top drive swivel and reactive torquecoupling. The modularity and non-uniformity of rigs increases thedifficulty in mounting adapting reactive torque couplings which affix tothe mast, rig floor, or the like. While variance in make and model oftop drives exist, at the current state of the art, a small number of topdrive models are installed on a plurality of rigs. This provides arelatively standard and consistent footprint for rotary sleeve coupling.By coupling to the top drive instead of a facet of the rig, complexityin the present invention can be reduced and less coupling inventory isrequired by the entity owning the top drive swivel.

Another known design is illustrated in FIG. 6. In this sketch the sleeve50 has a nozzle 52 that is braced against rotation in a single directionby an arm 54 that extends axially from plate 56 that has an opening toaccommodate the output shaft 6′ before the mandrel 4 is threaded to it.Four bolts 58 are used to bolt the plate 56 to the tool handler 7′. Thedownsides of this design are that it allows almost 360 degrees ofrotation in one direction while preventing rotation in a single andopposite direction. Another downside is that the plate 56 is custom to aspecific top drive configuration and has no flexibility or use if thelower end of the tool handler 7′ is different than the fixed bolt holepattern on the mounting plate 56. Apart from this is the rigging andpersonnel required to move the plate 56 and hold it in position tothread the bolts 58 could waste a lot of rig time and present safetyissues if the work takes place above where people need to walk to dotheir work.

Known solutions currently employed are more mechanically complicatedthan the present invention. The preferred embodiment of the inventionconsists of a single component with no moving parts. Minimal cost andcomplexity is required for manufacture and maintenance of such apreferred embodiment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In the preferred mode of the present invention, the bottom end of aconnector sleeve couples the non-rotating sleeve to the top driveswivel. The top end of the connector sleeve rotatably impinges on anon-rotating member of the top drive directly, the top drivelongitudinal carriage, or a combination of the two. Rotation of the topdrive output shaft will transmit a force to the non-rotating sleevethrough seal friction until the top end of the connector sleeve contactsa non-rotating body of the top drive's longitudinal carriage or the topdrive directly or both. Upon contact, the non-rotating sleeve willresist the torque aided by the connector sleeve and overcome the sealfriction transmitted to the non-rotating sleeve. The top drive andconnector move axially in tandem and even have some capability ofrelative axial movement while resisting further relative rotation whilefacilitating assembly of the components. The connector can be in morethan one piece to facilitate assembly to the top drive over theconnected string and to reduce component weight that needs to be handledby the rig crews.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the connector sleeve showing an optionallower end spline and at least one flat that contacts a top drive;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the at least one flat of FIG. 1 incontact with a non-rotating portion of the top drive;

FIG. 3 is a sectional elevation view of the components in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an elevation view of the components in a drilling rig; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing and alternative way to rotationallylock the non-rotating sleeve to the connector sleeve and furtherillustrating the vertical split in the connector sleeve;

FIG. 6 is a prior art design requiring removal of bolts from anunderside of a top drive to secure an arm that abutted a nozzle on asleeve to keep that sleeve from rotating in a single direction.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIG. 4 a rig 10 supports a crown block 9 from which atravelling block 8 is supported in a known manner. The top drive 12 issupported off the travelling block 8. It has a powered output shaft 6 towhich the tool string 11 is attached, via a mandrel 4 that is part ofthe top drive 12. A non-rotating sleeve 5 is mounted over shaft 6 andmandrel 4 with a nozzle 20 that provides fluid communication to passage22 through output shaft 6 and mandrel 4 and into the tool string 11.Non-rotating sleeve 5 is a known component that has spaced bearings andseals against mandrel 4 that are not shown so that fluid under pressuredelivered through nozzle 20 is directed into the tool string 11 as thetool string 11 rotates while non rotating sleeve 5 does not rotate. Inthat manner a fluid line that is not shown can be connected to nozzle 20to add material to the tool string 11 while bypassing the top drive 12.The seals between the non-rotating sleeve 5 and the rotating mandrel 4tend to induce rotation of the non-rotating sleeve 5 unless the frictionforce is overcome. That occurs in the present invention with the use ofconnecting sleeve 1. Connecting sleeve 1 can be rotationally locked tothe non-rotating sleeve 5 with a spline 2 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 orwith standoffs 13 that abut or extend through connecting sleeve 1 andfind support on landing flange 14 while secured with pins 15.

Connecting sleeve 1 can be a split structure having a split 24 with thepieces connected by a hinge 26 as shown in FIG. 5. A clamp located 180away holds the components 28 and 30 together after they are mounted overthe connected mandrel 4 and top drive output shaft 6. Connecting sleeve1 has at least one upper flat 3 defined by flat surface 32. Surface 32is designed to fit adjacent surface 34 to item 7 which can be the toolhandler of the top drive 12 or other non-rotating surface of the topdrive 12. Some initial gap is preferred for assembly purposes of surface32 and surface 34. Clearly, if a clamshell design is incorporated intothe connecting sleeve as shown in FIG. 5 such a gap can be minimized oreliminated. While opposed upper flats 3 is one solution, the rotationallocking even after an optional limited amount of relative rotationpreceding the locking can be accomplished in a variety of other wayssuch as meshing castellation, rods going into recesses or pins abuttingan adjacent surface to name a few options contemplated by the invention.As another alternative, the connecting sleeve 1 and the tool handler 7or its non-rotating equivalent on the top drive 12 can be a singleunitary structure or in multiple pieces to be field assembled.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the way the rotationallocking to the top drive 12 itself or to the tool handler 7 attached tothe stationary portion of the top drive 12 takes the surroundingstructures out of the picture and avoids issues of the rig belonging toone company while another company brings the top drive to the rig. Sincethe rigs are differently, configured using the rig structure or thebails that hold the elevator creates a dimensional uncertainty if thetorque link has to be connected one end to such structures. Then again,there is the issue of having to accommodate the axial movements of thetop drive while still providing a torque reaction member. This need toaccommodate a friction force in a plane perpendicular to top drive axialmovement has been the reason the prior designs have been complex andheavy structures that take a long time to field assemble and requirehoisting equipment in an otherwise confined space that can also presentpersonnel safety issues. Where the present invention diverges is thatthe torque reaction is provided from the body of the top drive itselfrather than adjacent rig equipment such as the rig structure or theparallel support members for the elevator as described in CA2759139.Instead the connecting sleeve 1 has no moving parts after assembly, tothe top drive itself or the tool handler or both such that thenon-rotating sleeve seal friction is overcome upon initial rotation ofthe mandrel 4. The connecting sleeve can be easy to fabricate andtransport and if provided in a clamshell design can be assembled overthe mandrel 4 with the tool string 11 assembled to the top drive outputshaft 6. Connection to the non-rotating sleeve 5 by the connectingsleeve 1 can be by splines as in FIG. 2 or with rods 13 as in FIG. 5 orby any other way that can provide a quick rotational lock.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the gap between opposedsurfaces 32 can also be varied on one or on opposed sides using anadjustment pad 33 schematically illustrated in FIG. 1. In that mannerdifferent gaps can be straddled and rotational play can be removed toeliminate any rotational movement of sleeve 5. Typically even with asmall gap between the tool handler 7 or the non-rotating part of topdrive 12 the amount of rotation of nozzle 20 can be kept to under 10degrees in opposed directions whereas the prior design of FIG. 6 hasover 300 degrees of allowed rotation in one direction. As best seen inFIG. 2 there are no fasteners needed to operatively connect the U-shapedportion of the connecting member 1 formed by opposed flats 32 and thetool handler 7 or another non-rotating part of the top drive 12. Inessence the parts simply nest with a small or no gap to provide therotational lock to the sleeve 5. In essence the present inventionpreferably has the connecting member 1 weight supported off thenon-rotating sleeve 5 and a top end that is initially spaced from thesupporting device such as tool handler 7 or the top drive 12. Thatinitial gap or spacing allows some relative rotation between the toolstring 11 and the sleeve 5 of preferably no more than 10 degrees inopposed directions while facilitating assembly. Supporting weight frombelow rather than from above as in FIG. 6 also makes for a faster andsafer installation process. A flexible connection to nozzle 20 cancomfortably tolerate 10 degree angular movement. That amount of angularmovement can be reduced or eliminated with adjustment of the adjustmentpad 33 after initial assembly. The design of FIG. 6 allows almost a fullrevolution of relative rotation of the sleeve with the nozzle in onedirection while minimizing relative rotation in the opposite direction.

The above description is illustrative of the preferred embodiment andmany, modifications may be made by those skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the invention whose scope is to be determined from theliteral and equivalent scope of the claims below:

We claim:
 1. An apparatus for securing a sleeve against relativerotation with respect to a stationary component associated with asupporting device that rotates or translates a tubular string,comprising: a non-rotating sleeve having at least one passage with atool string extending through said at least one passage and a connectionfor fluid communication into said passage; a supporting devicecomprising an elongated body assembly at least a part of said elongatedbody non-rotationally supporting the tool string and another part ofsaid elongated body assembly selectively rotating with the tool stringin said passage relatively to said non-rotating sleeve; a connectingmember engaged to said non-rotating sleeve for weight support whilelimiting relative rotation between said non-rotating sleeve and the toolstring in opposed directions to under 300 degrees, said connectingmember comprising an upper end positioned in an initial spaced relationto said non-rotating part of said supporting device.
 2. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein: said supporting device comprises a top drive.
 3. Theapparatus of claim 2, wherein: said connecting member rotationallylocked to said non-rotating sleeve with a spline.
 4. The apparatus ofclaim 2, wherein: said connecting member rotationally locked to saidnon-rotating sleeve with at least one axially extending rod.
 5. Theapparatus of claim 2, wherein: said connecting member comprises at leastone piece.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein: said connecting membercomprises two pieces hinged together to facilitate creation of saidpassage over the tool string with the tool string supported from saidelongated body.
 7. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein: said connectingmember comprises at least one protrusion to selectively engage saidportion of said elongated body that non-rotationally supports the toolstring.
 8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein: said at least oneprotrusion comprises a flat surface to selectively engage an opposingflat surface on said portion of said elongated body thatnon-rotationally supports the tool string.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8,wherein: said flat surface and opposing flat surface defining an initialclearance in between to facilitate assembly of said connecting member tosaid portion of said elongated body that non-rotationally supports thetool string.
 10. The apparatus of claim 2, further comprising: spacedbails supported by said elongated bodies, said connecting member beingout of contact with said bails.
 11. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein:said connecting member comprises a sleeve.
 12. The apparatus of claim 2,wherein: said top drive further comprises a non-rotating tool handlerhaving first opposed flat surfaces; said connecting member furthercomprising second opposed flat surfaces having a distance in betweenequal or greater than a distance between said first opposed flatsurfaces.
 13. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein: said non-rotatingsleeve further comprises spaced seals straddling said connectionthereon, whereupon contact between said first and second opposed flatsurfaces generated by rotation of the tool string in said spaced seals,seal friction is overcome allowing said non-rotating sleeve to avoidrotation.
 14. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein: said at least a part ofsaid elongated body that non-rotationally supports the tool string andsaid connection member are a single piece.
 15. The apparatus of claim 2,wherein: said at least a part of said elongated body thatnon-rotationally supports the tool string and said connection member aremultiple pieces.
 16. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein: relativerotation between said non-rotating sleeve and the tool string in opposeddirections is limited to under 300 degrees.
 17. The apparatus of claim16, wherein: relative rotation between said non-rotating sleeve and thetool string in opposed directions is limited to under 10 degrees. 18.The apparatus of claim 17, wherein: relative rotation between saidnon-rotating sleeve and the tool string in opposed directions iseliminated by removal of said spaced relation of said connecting memberupper end to said non-rotating part of said supporting device with anadjustment device.